Hybrid Classroom – The Experience оf the 107th Khan Krum Primary School in Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a quick introduction of distance learning for many students. In Bulgaria, the Ministry of Education and Science obliged schools to work synchronously with their pupils using video conference rooms. After the easing of the containment measures, regular classroom education was restored. However, the problems with quarantined students persisted. School principals had to solve new organizational challenges. The hardest and most frequent issue was the split of a given class into students present in school, and students learning online. The article introduces an organizational model of a hybrid classroom where teaching is carried out in a physical and an online classroom at the same time. The authors describe their experience with specific hardware and software used for the first time in Bulgaria for educational purposes. They also show their experience with the organization of traineeships for university students as primary school IT teachers using a hybrid classroom.